Participants of the Cup for People project. Photo courtesy of the author.The Russian state’s massive effort in hosting the 2018 FIFA World Championship has led to an unimaginative decision: to deploy police officers to 11 host cities from all over Russia, while restricting citizens’ freedoms, from freedom of movement to freedom of assembly.
But grassroots initiatives are springing up. And these aim to help visitors not just to enjoy the football, but to find out about the real lives of Russian citizens as well. In St Petersburg, which is hosting four matches, a project called A Cup for People has been launched, and its organisers believe it will help them show people the Petersburg that only they know – vibrant, creative, open to the world and resistant to all setbacks.
No entry here and no entry there
The most eye-catching and high profile element of the preparations for FIFA-2018 is Petersburg’s new stadium, which the locals refer to as “Arena-Zenit” after the city’s football team Zenit St Petersburg. The stadium has taken 10 years to build, and those years have been marred in corruption scandals. The final bill came to almost 50 billion roubles (about £60 million), making it one of the most expensive in the world.
